Early parliamentary elections, 29 September 2019

Following an invitation from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration, and Foreign Affairs (MFA) to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the 29 September 2019 early parliamentary elections, and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Austria from 14 to 16 August. The NAM included Alexey Gromov, ODIHR Election Adviser, and Ulvi Akhundlu, ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the NAM was to assess the pre-election environment and preparations for the elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections and, if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions and the election administration, as well as with representatives of political parties, media, and civil society. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.